Australia

New Zealand’s top diplomat said that if Canadian allegations against India over the killing of a Sikh leader proved correct, it would be of serious concern, local media reported on Wednesday. Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta’s statement came after Australia expressed its deep concern over alleged New Delhi involvement in the …

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has summoned the Australian chargé d’affaires to Tehran to protest meddlesome remarks by the country’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong and the fresh round of sanctions against Tehran. The Australian diplomat was summoned to the ministry on Wednesday in the absence of the country’s ambassador to Tehran to …

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck south of New Zealand’s Kermadec Islands on Friday, the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) said. The quake’s epicenter was 80 kilometers (49 miles) below the surface, GFZ said.

A group of Australian lawmakers have planned to visit the United States later this month to demand an end to Washington’s push to get WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange extradited to the country. The delegation of federal MPs and senators traveling on September 20 to Washington, DC includes former Nationals leader …

Australia has rebuked the United States for the latter’s refusal to cease its prosecution of Julian Assange, saying it would persist in its efforts to have Washington drop its legal proceedings against the WikiLeaks founder. “This has gone on for too long. Enough is enough,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese …

A former childcare worker in Australia has been charged with more than 1,600 child abuse offenses, including rape, against 91 young girls across the country and abroad over a 15-year period. Australian Federal Police (AFP) authorities say they became aware of the 45-year-old Gold Coast childcare worker’s alleged offenses after recently …

Ben Roberts-Smith, the former top Australian soldier, who was convicted of war crime by the court, has defended the atrocities he committed during his service in Afghanistan and has said he would not apologize for his actions. In his first public comments since the court ruling on Wednesday, Roberts-Smith, holder …

More than 120 firefighters battled a major blaze at a multi-level building in central Sydney today. Multiple calls to emergency services were received when flames started engulfing the seven-storey building on Randle Street just after 4pm, Fire and Rescue NSW said. Firefighters, from 30 fire trucks and multiple stations, had …

Australian protesters have taken to the streets in Sydney to demonstrate against extradition to the US by the British government of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange that was intended to coincide with the canceled visit of the US president to Australia. Leading the protest rally on Wednesday, the wife of the jailed …

A survey has indicated that Canada and Australia would vote to become republics if referendums were held. Almost half of the overseas countries in which King Charles III is head of state would vote to become republics if given the opportunity, a new poll has found. The survey conducted by …

The Australian government has announced that military personnel who will stay in uniform after completing the three-year compulsory service will receive A$50,000 ($33,165), amid rising tensions between its ally the US and China. Referring to a retention problem, Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Tuesday the bonus comes as the …

Australia’s tobacco tax will be increased by billions of dollars over the next four years as the government cracks down on smoking and vaping. Recreational vaping will be banned as the government seeks to prevent the next generation from becoming addicted to nicotine, Health Minister Mark Butler said Tuesday. The …

The Australian government has announced that military personnel who will stay in uniform after completing the three-year compulsory service will receive A$50,000 ($33,165), amid rising tensions between its ally the US and China. Referring to a retention problem, Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Tuesday the bonus comes as the …

Australia needs to spend more money on defense, make its own munitions and develop the ability to strike longer-range targets as China’s military buildup challenges regional security, according to a government-commissioned report released Monday. The Defense Strategic Review supports the so-called AUKUS partnership among Australia, the United States, and Britain, …

The moon’s shadow will sweep across the globe in Western Australia, East Timor and Indonesia. The moon will pass in front of the sun creating an eclipse for certain regions of the planet. But this eclipse will be a much rarer celestial event than most, as it will be a …

A tropical cyclone is expected to intensify to the most destructive category before it crosses the northwest Australian coast with winds gusting at more than 280 kph (170 mph), meteorologists said Thursday. Cyclones are common along the sparsely populated Pilbara coast of Western Australia state and fatalities are rare, but …

Heavy rain brought flash flooding to Australia’s largest city Sydney on Sunday, prompting rescues and residents to sandbag houses, as authorities warned of bad weather ahead. Emergency authorities received 50 calls for assistance, mostly for sandbagging of properties and help plugging leaking roofs, from residents in Sydney, the capital of …

Shares of Latitude Group Holdings (LFS.AX) slumped to their all-time low on Wednesday after the fintech firm unearthed further evidence of large-scale information theft affecting former and current customers across Australia and New Zealand. Latitude said it was attempting to identify the number of customers affected and the type of …

MPs have been told to remove the Chinese app from their phones by the end of the month The popular Chinese video-sharing app TikTok has been banned from all devices that can access the New Zealand parliament’s network, the legislature’s chief executive has announced. Wellington has become the latest capital …

An earthquake of 7.1 magnitudes struck the Kermadec Islands region in New Zealand on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said. New Zealand’s Kermadec Islands region has been hit by an earthquake of 7.1 magnitudes on Thursday, prompting Tsunami warnings. The US Geological Survey (USGS) said that the quake was …